Hope and Despair
by Nao Takumi
Summary: If there was hope for him in this life, it was probably over-shadowed by the despair. That was the conclusion Kiryuu Zero came to after an unexpected meeting with Kaname Kuran three years after graduating from Cross Academy.
1. Prologue

_**(A/N: **_So I know I've started a couple of new multi-chaptered stories around the same without completing my old ones, but I need a few things to think of at the same to keep myself from getting bored. So, here it doesn't exist so far in the story that I've planned and hopefully will not even in the future. The plot may seem cliche, but I'm pretty sure that the progress won't be such, so please give it a go. And review, please please please._**)**_

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimers are applicable.

**Warning:**This story is an Alternate Reality and the characters will be OOC. It will contain yaoi in the future.

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**Hope and Despair**

**Prologue**

It seemed as if centuries had gone by when he had last heard such news. So wonderful that his whole being felt suddenly lighter, brighter. What he had once thought to be a childish fantasy of a mere twelve year old boy was now in his grasp. All he had to do was reach out, and hold it. Never to let it go.

The moment disappeared as soon as it had appeared, taking everything away with it. Down to the last shred of hope he was holding dear to in case he found something more worth living for. Silence thundered inside of him, dizzying him. The stench of blood assaulted his senses, burning in his twin crimson orbs. Crimson also flowed from within sharpened claws, sensitised elongated fangs and into the burning throat, flaming the thirst more than satiating it.

And then he was drowning. Swiftly, but not deceiving enough. Deeply, but not everlasting, ensuring that he would resurface.

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Insistent cries of an infant echoed in the darkness, pleading for his attention. A sharp pain from a needle prick shot through his body. Two to be more precise and he felt his life being sucked from the tip of his forefinger, warming him over in a completely new way.

The cries had now stopped, so did the sucking. He felt the brush of something warm and wet on the fingertip before everything quietened and he was once again engulfed in darkness. Although this time around, it lost its scare. He couldn't feel his numbed body, nor hear the distant cries of his soul. Everything stilled inside of him and he was once again dead to the rest of the world.

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The next time he came to, his throat was burning. Every muscle in his body was sore and hurt profusely. His vision was blurry and then there was fire burning in his veins, scorching every part of his body. He screamed and screamed, but couldn't hear his own cries. His body convulsed and thrashed and then once again, everything stilled. This time, he reached out with a frail hand, saw people bustling about, spoke in a hoarse voice and heard the relieved sighs of those around him. Some welcoming him, some congratulating, but his gaze was fixed on only one.

The brunet was now standing in the corner of the room, away from everyone else. He stared at him with hooded auburn eyes, holding a cooing bundle in his hands. He occasionally looked down at it and murmured something with a soft smile before his attention reverted and was once again fixed on him. It was simply scrutinising, neither indignant, nor pitiful. Or even loving for that matter.

For Kiryuu Zero, what mattered the most at that moment was that it was there. _He_ was there, because had it not been for him, he wouldn't be here.


	2. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimers are applicable.  
**Warning: **This story is AR and the characters are OOC. For certain reasons, it will have OCs, but I will do my level best to keep them to a minimum. So far, Yuuki does not exist in this verse.**  
Author's Note: **Thank you to all who reviewed, favourite-d or put this story on alert and liked my writing style. I'm sorry for not posting earlier, but reality crashed and stuff happened. I hope you all forgive me and enjoy reading this chapter as well. Please leave a review to let me know how you liked the progression of the story.

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**Chapter 1:**

"Zero it is time to wake up now. You've been asleep for long enough." It was difficult, verging on being impossible for him to respond to that voice, talking to him in a low mellow tone, soothing at first, but underlined with a baleful warning. He recognised the speaker, the order and the repercussions, but he couldn't bring himself to care enough.

As if sensing Zero's intention and his blatant disregard, a swift and precise puncture was made in the centre of the tattoo etched on his neck. Pain, unbearable, scorching pain flared in his veins moments later and Zero shot up in his bed, clutching at his neck and screaming his lungs out. His eyes opened, the white tinged with red and bleeding tears, vision tainted crimson. And through this filter of red, he saw Kaname Kuran's serene expression among the sea of panicked faces and rushed orders.

Slowly, torturously so, the red faded and everything returned to normal. His sight, his hearing, sense of smell, everything was sharp, highly defined. He could feel the softness of the silken sheets underneath his bare legs and slight warmth on his wrist where Kaname held him, highly contrasting with the coldness of the room. His body wasn't numb any longer.

"Welcome back Zero. You have no idea how long we've all been waiting." This time, there was no undertone to the merry comment. All around him, people; doctors he assumed and nurses, heaved sighs of relief, but he couldn't bring himself to share the sentiment.

Wanting to get up, get away from everything, Zero swung his legs over to the edge and just as he hopped off, a wave of nausea overcame him, but before he could fall, two arms caught him, steadying him.

"I'm sure you're excited to meet our son, but you're not yet strong enough to go waltzing on your own, I'll have Aidou bring him in here, wait for me." Helping Zero lay back on his bed, Kaname gave a light peck on his forehead before moving towards the door and out of the room. Where Kaname's mouth touched his skin, Zero could still feel the burn.

A few minutes passed before the door opened again. Breath caught up in his throat, Zero saw Kaname enter with a little bundle in his arms. Eager to hold his child, he extended his shaking arms and Kaname gently placed the child there. Hugging the baby to his chest, Zero could barely contain the sob which escaped his mouth. _My only hope, my Kazuki, _He repeated internally, kissing the sleeping baby's soft cheeks.

With a minor gesture of his hand, Kaname ordered everyone else to leave the room, leaving him alone with Zero and their child. Any moment now, Zero would speak and he wanted to be the only one to hear it.

"What are you playing at Kuran?" Placing the sleeping baby in his lap, Zero spoke for the first time, not disappointing the pureblood. His voice was raspy, and speaking hurt his throat, but it was about time to know what the vampire was playing at. Since Kaname Kuran, royal head of the vampire race wouldn't just be at anyone's beck and call.

"How you hurt me Zero. Have I ever played with you before?" Feigning hurt, Kaname moved closer to the bed, extending his hand to stroke the baby's cheek, but before he could, Zero held him by the wrist, holding him back.

"You can't stop me Zero, he is my son too." Once again Kaname's voice held that dangerous undertone to it, that had it been anyone apart from Zero, they would be facing the consequences of their actions right about now. But Zero didn't let the fear deter him.

"Don't get ahead of yourself just because you held Kazuki for a couple of days." Letting go of Kaname's hand, Zero looked at his son, the extent of his love shining in his bright eyes.

Kaname on the other hand, completely ignored Zero's reaction as he rolled the name on his tongue, "Kazuki…" it had a nice ring to it and Kaname decided he liked it very much. His son would be just that, the one and only hope of the vampires.

"Kazuki is mine just as he is yours Zero, make no mistake about that." Sneering, this time Zero slapped Kaname's hand away when he tried to touch the boy, hoping that Kaname would just get the hint and disappear, hopefully from the face of the earth.

"Stop humouring yourself Kuran, there isn't a single cell of yours in him."

"Au contraire Zero, he is all you and me, just wait till he wakes up." And as if Kazuki was just waiting for this remark, he opened his eyes, bright and sharp fixed on his father's face. A wave of trepidation swept Zero's body seeing two crystal clear, but crimson orbs staring at him. He remembered his son having the same amethyst eyes as his, but this boy didn't.

"Didn't I tell you Zero, he's all you and I. No one ever will know or has to know that he even had a mother."


	3. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimers are applicable.  
**Warning: **Refer to chapter 1  
**Author's Note: **I'm sorry if I updated a bit earlier, but I wanted to get done with this story whilst I'm interested in it, hopefully you all won't mind. Secondly, this story won't be too long, I'm thinking around ten chapters only, so yeah, I won't drag out the scenes anymore, but knowing me, I get distracted very easily. Lastly, thank you for the reviews, they mean a lot to me, so I hope you'll review at the end of this chapter too. And my heartfelt apology to those who were looking forward to MPreg because so far, surrendering to Kaname is not on Zero's list, but suggestions on how you want this story to end are open and appreciated.

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**Chapter 2:**

"What did you do to my son, Kuran?" Shell shocked eyes still locked on the twin crimson orbs staring up at him, Zero was almost afraid to hear the answer.

"He is our son, Zero. Don't you see, he has my blood running in his veins too, can't you feel it?" There was a certain glint in the auburn eyes of his tormentor as he stared at Kazuki that Zero couldn't ignore any longer. He tried placing a name to the emotion, but couldn't, even if he recognized it as clear as daylight, because there was no reason for a vampire of the purest bloodline to stare at a hunter's child with such raw affection. No reason at all.

"You could've done with anyone's child, if that is what you really want. Why bother with mine?" Carefully wording his confusion, Zero allowed Kaname to hold Kazuki, if only to gauge his reaction.

"You're rather dim-witted for a hunter of your calibre, Zero. Surely you know your own clan's status." Cooing at the baby and nuzzling his head affectionately, Kaname sounded as if he was talking about the mundane weather. Zero felt his anger getting the better of him, _what does he take me for?_ But just as he was about to retort that he did indeed know everything there was to know about the prestigious Kiryuu clan, he felt his body go numb. _Surely Kuran wouldn't do that, even someone as cruel as him can't do something that heinous to a child for power, right?_

Zero's mind drifted back to those long, cold nights, ages ago when he lay in bed at night with his brother and their father would tell them a story before going to sleep. There was one particular story which fascinated him above others, and for a reason, was his favourite.

It was about the first human ever who managed to temporarily incapacitate an ancestor. After rendering the monster incapable to move for the time being, the man was in a bind because he didn't know what to do next. He had observed first hand that even if a single part remained, somehow the whole creature regenerated and even by one, if they managed to kill the vampires, they might have a hope for survival. Otherwise, the human race was doomed for sure.

Not knowing what got into him, the man ate the vampire's flesh, little by little until there was nothing left. It was inhumane, but he had a feeling that that was the only thing which would prevent him from dying at the hands of these monsters. It was, after all, a dog eat dog world, and the lesser beings always got chewed out first. After consuming that first ancestor, he developed a thirst for blood, uncharacteristic of human, but the very basic for a vampire. This thirst, however, was not directed at humans, rather at vampires and before long, other humans followed his lead, very few in numbers, but determined.

Eating the flesh of these ancestor vampires, were born the first vampire hunters. The strongest amongst them were those with the blood of the purest vampires running in their veins, and Kiryuu Zero just happened to be the first vampire hunter and admittedly the strongest. The vampire Hunter he himself had been named after.

Years after the humans once again inhabited the land. From the small number of vampires which were still alive and forced to live in fear of the hunters, one vampire repeated history and consumed not only blood, but flesh from one of the stronger hunters. And just as had happened with the humans, he became more powerful, but didn't stay alive long enough to tell the tale.

It was a tale of secrecy, known to only the hunters which existed at that time and followed on to only the members of the head family. How Kaname Kuran had come to know of it, was beyond Zero, but now, the result of knowing was not. Kaname Kuran explicitly referred to Kazuki as not only Zero's, but his own child. So there wasn't reason for concern there, right?

Vampires were creatures of power, born with the inherent need and addiction to control others and Kaname Kuran was no better. As the dots connected themselves in his mind, Zero's body broke out in a cold sweat and he stared at Kaname with such uncharacteristic fear that the pureblood was forced to stop playing with the child and face him. Kaname arched a perfect brow in inquiry, wondering what made the usually loud hunter dead silent. After minutes of a silent staring contest, Kaname spoke, giving Kazuki back to Zero after placing an affectionate kiss on his plump cheek,

"Rest assured Zero, I will not harm Kazuki in any way. He is my heir after all…"


	4. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimers are applicable.  
**Warning: **Please refer to Chapter 1  
**Author's Note: **I do hope this chapter clears up the confusion and answers your questions. **Phantomhive422, **I hope this chapter was not as confusing and cleared everything up. Thank you for continuing to read my story despite everything, I'm really glad. **Irmina**, **b****en4kevin**, and **Meguilty, **thank you very much for reviewing the previous chapters! I hope you like this one as well and review.

And one more thing, there are certain grammatical errors in this chapter which I am aware of, but my grasp on English language is not good enough to solve them, if somebody has the time to, please help me with them, thank you for reading!

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**Chapter 3:**

"While you were indisposed, I took the liberty to officiate Kazuki as my heir; it's a quite simple process, really." Before Kaname could continue, the door of the room opened and Aidou Hanabusa accompanied by a nurse came inside, carrying a tray of food which she placed in front of Zero. The vampire on the other hand, walked over to Kaname and handed him three standard issue office files, whispered a few words and walked out of the room after bowing to the pureblood and reluctantly to Zero as well. In the mean time, the nurse had also taken her leave, instructing Zero to press the buzzer button if he wished for anything else.

"You should eat something before we discuss the specifics, I'm sure you will need your strength to fight me later." _Although it would be preferable if you'd go along with something quietly once in your life, _was what he wanted to add, but at the moment, Kaname's task was to make the hunter see his way as amiably as possible.

The next few minutes were spent in silence, with the occasional sound of pages shifting and cutlery being put down or picked up and the silent snores of Kazuki as he peacefully slept beside Zero.

"I'm done, you may continue with what you were saying Kuran." Putting away the tray on the foot of his bed, Zero made himself comfortable and looked expectantly at the pureblood. There was a small smile playing on his lips as Kaname closed the files and brought them over to Zero. Intrigued, the hunter picked them up and noticed that they contained his wife's, Kaname's and Kazuki bio-data, life history and medical records, everything there was to know about them.

"After Kazuki was born and your wife died, rather unfortunately, I brought both of you to my humble abode, where you've been for the past two months. During this time, I regularly provided Kazuki with my blood and as you would know, it leads to a slow transformation into a vampire. What helped the most was you own vampire genes in him which when combined with mine, were dominant over his mother's; I'm assuming a huntress of the Kiryuu clan, and then nature took its course, ridding him of her essence. Biologically, physically, ability wise, he is through and through our son, Zero." During Kaname's explanation, Zero had gone through Kazuki's file, knowing that whatever Kuran just said was the truth.

For a few minutes, Zero stared at the pureblood, his normally expressive eyes unreadable. He opened his mouth a couple of times, but closed it again as words left him.

"If you're thinking about running away with Kazuki, it is inadvisable because all roads point to me. You can't escape." Kaname held both of Zero's wrists, forcing the hunter to face him, understand the complexity of the situation. "You'll be a liability to all hunters and a danger to humans without my blood. You will fall to Level-E. How do you suppose Kazuki will feel seeing you descent to madness?"

"I'm not a coward Kuran; I can fend for both myself and my child. I may not have my family, but my clan is more than enough for us." His parents may have died all those years ago, but he had his clan to back him up. The elders were more than joyed to see him return, for he was the only living member of the head family. They had selected a wife for him, one of the best huntresses of the clan and as a duty to his family and clan, he had married the girl. They knew of Shizuka's attack and her revenge and had still done everything to accommodate Zero and ensure his happiness. There was no way they would shun him now.

"Will they accept you back knowing that you're an ex-human who killed his own wife because of his uncontrollable blood lust?" Hearing Kaname's question, Zero couldn't help himself and he laughed at the absurdity of the notion.

"I'm a hunter from the purest of the bloodlines Kuran, I've got the blood of vampires stronger than you in me. Do you really think I will fall to Level-E?" Zero sneered, continuing, "I may be a danger to vampires, but never to humans. My thirst for blood will only be satiated by a vampire; humans hold no appeal for me, they are safe from me." There was a time when he himself lived in the constant fear of descending to the madness of a Level-E, but all had resolved with a single visit to the Clan Elder.

Hunters were made from the flesh and blood of ancestors, the traits of a vampire were a part of them from birth. The stronger the hunter, the closer to being a vampire he was. And as such, having a vampire of any status bite him didn't harm strong hunters in any way. If Zero was to descent to madness, he would've done that long ago, within a few days after the vampire's bite, but he didn't. That incident during his time in Cross Academy was his hunter side awakening, when he bit a fellow student and supposedly drank from her, the reason why it didn't quench his thirst was because she was a human. The same reason why Kuran's blood did the job, he was a vampire. And the hunter in him thrived on that blood.

"Think of it this way, as the royal head of the vampires, it is in the best interest of my people and their safety that I keep monsters like you at bay." There was something different about Zero's attitude regarding his vampirism now, that much Kaname had deduced from his behaviour. But only now did he notice the extent of change in the other from his time back at Cross Academy.

"And as the head of the Hunter's Association, it is my duty to annihilate every last one of you." Without batting an eyelash, Zero retorted, glad to see Kaname running out of options as the pureblood's posture slumped ever so slightly and he moved away from the bed towards the door.

"Kazuki," That one name had Zero's complete attention fixed on Kaname as the pureblood stood at the door, hand on the knob, just about to turn it, "if anything happens to me, Kazuki will die. He is slowly becoming a pureblood and our thirst is only satiated by the blood of our loved ones. You might survive without me, Kazuki won't." Kaname was distraught now, it had taken years for an opportunity of such calibre to present itself and Kaname was losing for the first time in his life. He did not like it one bit, that was until Zero spoke.

"Stop, Kuran. Let's talk about it."


	5. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimers are applicable.  
**Warning: **Please refer to chapter 1

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

The pureblood stopped mid step and stood still for a few minutes, pondering over what possibly could Zero want to talk about now before nodding his head and closing the door once again.

"You can't possibly make me believe that whatever you did was to get my attention because you've been infatuated with me ever since you met me. Mind telling me the reason why you saw fit bothering with my life and my son?" Seeing no reason to exhaust himself by keeping up the hostile attitude, Zero asked in a manner which was borderline civil.

"If it were just for your looks, I might have tried to win you over, but your attitude leaves a lot to be desired, so I'll say no. I did most definitely not go through months of planning just to get you in my bed." The insulted look on Zero's would've been comical had he not seen the flash of anger in his amethyst eyes, urging Kaname to stop dawdling. "Kazuki was all I wanted then and now. Whatever I did, it was because I wanted an heir."

"Why not have one of your own if you're so desperate?" Zero snapped, truly, whoever had thought up the word pest was clearly well acquainted with the pureblood.

"If you bothered to pay any attention to your teacher, you would've known that for a pureblood vampire to continue their line, a mate of equal blood purity is required, most preferably of the same blood line. Seeing as my parents and all other members of the Kuran family are now dead, I don't have anyone to take in as my mate to give birth to a child." Clearly angered, Kaname's tone was rancorous, his aura malicious.

"There are SEVEN of you pure-blooded families! You seriously can't tell me that all of them died in the past fortnight as well?" Ever the one with the shortest fuse, Zero countered. He pushed the sheets away from his body and stood up, fortunately not losing his footing this time.

"Counting the members of all of these seven families, there are not more than fifteen of us pureblood alive and awake, more than half of whom are better of dead. The rest are either ineligible, inadequate or plain nuisances whom I consider spending a single day with to be a waste of my time let alone eternity. With a child!" Zero could've sworn that in the past couple of years that he had known Kaname Kuran, he hadn't once seen the pureblood lose his composure like this and it was, for the lack of a better word, fascinating.

For a few moments Zero just stood there, watching multiple shades of red and brown mould and mix and shine in Kaname's eyes as his anger spiked and the pureblood tried to contain it, before a rich wine colour settled. Kaname took a few deep breaths and turned to face the other way, presumably to count to a ten before turning back around to face Zero. His eyes were once again a deep chocolate colour and he looked far more composed then he had been moments before.

"Kazuki is a pureblood hunter, one of very few of its kind because hunters tend to mix and procreate with humans more than vampires do. To keep my bloodline pure, the next most suitable option to was to have a pureblood hunter as a mate as opposed to a vampire one. And considering that you already had a newborn child, choosing you and Kazuki was my only option. It is easier if the transformation or blood bonds are created at birth, this way neither Kazuki would feel any pain nor the one forming the bond." He opted not to say his own name because Kiryuu was only interested in the safety and comfort of Kazuki.

There was a heavy silence once again in the whole room as Zero processed the information. He wearily eyed the pureblood to see if he was lying and found dead straight and serious eyes staring at him. Reluctantly, he nodded his head in understanding and fell back on the bed, feeling his energy drain from within.

"For what it is worth and I know it isn't much, but your wife didn't feel any pain when she was killed. It was unavoidable, but that was one blood I did not want on my hands."_I too want a family of my own Zero, just like you. Is that so hard to understand, a wish too impossible to grant? _With that, the pureblood left the room after one doting glance at Kazuki, leaving Zero to his whirlwind of thoughts.

"Try living a lifetime by yourself Zero, it's not as easy as it seems…" Kuran's muffled voice, quiet, but to him clear as day rang in his mind, disrupting his peace of mind.

A childish fantasy of a mere twelve year old: to have a family to spend all eternity with, happy, loving… alive. A reality within grasp, I just have to reach out and hold it. Never to let it go. A ray of hope in the depths of despair, that's what Kazuki is for me. If by any chance, someone else wants to bask in brightness of the same ray with me, should I consider myself fortunate?

"Kuran." His voice was no above a whisper, his vision now clouded with darkness so soothing, he felt himself float. The door opened with the slightest noise just before he lost sight of himself and heard the whispered _thank you_.

He was drowning, but in a reality so hopeful, that no dream of his could hold a candle to it.

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**Author's Note: **Bet you weren't expecting me to finish it here, right? Well neither was I, but my mother said to wind up all my stories as soon as possible because I'll be moving away in a couple of weeks and won't have much time to update then, so yeah… Well, I know I could've done soo much better with this story, but in the given time this was something which struck my fantasy because the route which I planned to take would've taken me more than the next couple of weeks to finish this story, especially with the mount of drama and angst I planned to add. But I think I prefer it this way, open-ended and all. Leaves a lot to our imaginations.

But I still owe you guys an epilogue, so watch out for that, I guess. Anyway, Thank you for the reviews, favourites and alerts! I sincerely hope you all enjoyed reading this story.


	6. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimers are applicable.  
**Warning: **Please refer to chapter 1

* * *

**Epilogue**

Insistent cries of an infant echoed in the darkness, pleading for his attention. Waves of sharp pain shot through his body from where the blade had imbedded in his bone. He felt his life flash before his eyes, coldness surrounding him, enveloping his being.

The cries had now stopped and a new overbearing silence took its place. He heard the clink of his Bloody Rose as it fell on his side on the marble floor and felt the tremors in the ground as he registered someone coming over to where he was. Everything stilled inside of him for a moment before he growled menacingly, faltering the other person's approaching steps. The sound of the footsteps faded and everything inside the Kuran mansion stilled for the next few moments.

"_Always have a back-up plan kid, you never know when you're gonna need it." _Yagari Toga's voice resounded in his head and he silently cursed, shifting behind the heavy tapestry covered wall, leaving a trail of blood behind. From his new hiding point, he saw Kuran lying on the ground, bleeding to his death and was filled with dread all over again. Slowly, cringing with agony, he pushed himself over to the pureblood, sighing in relief as he noticed the shallow breaths of the other.

"If you survive this and Kazuki doesn't, I swear Kuran you will be wishing for death by the time I'm done with you." He knew he had no other choice and warily pulled the collar of his shirt before hauling the pureblood up and letting instinct take over. There was nothing remotely gratifying about the bite, it was messy and painful as Kuran gulped down the hot blood till he felt his wounds filling up, withdrawing with an undignified slurp. He flumped in Zero's lap, and closed his eyes.

"If Kazuki dies, I don't think I'll be able to live through it myself. I too placed all of my hopes in him." Voice barely above a whisper, Kaname groaned before the burn from having a hunter's blood scorch his vitals became to unbearable and he passed out.

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**Author's Note:** Just a reminder that I meant when I said that this story would be about ten chapters long. There will be a sequel, but quite later in the year when I'll once again have time to update. I do hope that I have managed to capture your interest, so you'll be looking forward to the sequel because I most definitely do not want to make this story romantic and fluffy like my other VK stories. It will still have an open ending. My heartfelt apologies to those who thought this was the end, I did not mean to lead you on. Thank you for the reviews, favourites and alerts, I really enjoyed writing this story and I hope you did too reading it! Looking forward to your reviews or PMs, please tell me how you felt about the end.


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